General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

10 October 1995

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

Fiftieth session
Agenda item 33


INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE REHABILITATION AND
RECONSTRUCTION OF NICARAGUA:  AFTERMATH OF THE WAR
AND NATURAL DISASTERS

Report of the Secretary-General


I.  INTRODUCTION

1.   At its  forty-ninth session,  the General  Assembly adopted  resolution
49/16,  of 17  November 1994,  entitled  "International assistance  for  the
rehabilitation and  reconstruction of Nicaragua:   aftermath of  the war and
natural disasters". In  that resolution  the General Assembly, concerned  at
the negative impact that recent natural  disasters and external debt  burden
might have on the country's attempts  at recovery, requested the  Secretary-
General, in  cooperation with the relevant  organs and  organizations of the
United  Nations   system  and  in  close  cooperation  with  the  Nicaraguan
authorities, to continue to  provide all necessary  assistance to activities
for the reconstruction, stabilization and development of the country.

2.   In its  related resolution  49/137 of  19 December 1994,  entitled "The
situation in Central America:   procedures for the  establishment of a  firm
and lasting  peace and progress  in fashioning a  region of peace,  freedom,
democracy  and development", the General Assembly expressed  its approval of
the  establishment  of a  support  group  for  Nicaragua,  which, under  the
coordination  of  the  Secretary-General,  is  playing  an  active  role  in
supporting  the  country's efforts  towards  economic  recovery  and  social
development.

3.   The present  report is  submitted pursuant  to paragraph  7 of  General
Assembly resolution 49/16.

4.  It will be recalled that at the end of the last decade Nicaragua was  in
a state of internal war, aggravated  by an international confrontation  that
led  to an economic blockade and commercial embargo.  The agreements reached
by  the  Central  American   Presidents  in  the   Presidential  Summits  of
Esquipulas I
Notes

  See Official Records  of the  Security Council, Fortieth Year,  Supplement
for April, May and June 1986, document A/40/1119-S/18106,  annex. and II,   

Ibid.,  Forty-second Year,  Supplement for July, August  and September 1988,
document A/42/521-S/19085, annex.


----- played an important role in the termination of the conflict.  Its

95-30453 (E)   231095/...
*9530453*
  peaceful  resolution was  also supported  by  the  United Nations  and the
international community.

5.    Internationally  monitored  elections  in  February  1990  led  to the
peaceful transfer  of the presidency to  an opposition party,  for the first
time  in Nicaraguan  history,  on 25  April 1990.    The new  Government  of
National Reconciliation embarked on a complex  process of transition:   from
war to peace, from  a centralized to a market economy, from an authoritarian
regime to  a participatory democracy, from  poverty to  development and from
international isolation to  political and economic reinsertion.  During  the
five  years since the  presidential elections Nicaragua has made substantial
achievements  in several  of these  areas,  with  the last  year registering
notable   progress   in   the   areas   of   reconciliation,   macroeconomic
stabilization, the consolidation of democracy and the  organization of civil
society.  However, delays in other areas may have hindered the process as  a
whole.

6.  Pacification has advanced significantly, and in 1995 for the first  time
there  are no  politically motivated armed  groups in Nicaragua.   More than
20,000 members  of the Nicaraguan Resistance  have been  demobilized and the
army  has been  reduced from  92,000 combatants  to 12,500,  the smallest in
Central America.   Although there remain armed  groups opposed to  the armed
forces which  maintain some relationship  with political  parties, they  are
essentially motivated  by personal  gain.  The  acts of  violent protest  in
urban areas noted in earlier years have also significantly diminished.

7.  Following the  end of the conflict, about 350,000 displaced persons  and
refugees  returned to  Nicaragua.   In  the  framework of  the International
Conference  on Central  American  Refugees (CIREFCA),  large  projects  were
implemented  to  support  demobilization  and  pacification  in  the  former
conflict zones.   A further stage saw  the rehabilitation and development of
agricultural and livestock  production through  development programmes  such
as the  Programme for Displaced Persons,  Refugees and  Returnees in Central
America  (PRODERE).  However,  integral  reintegration (social,  productive,
political,   etc.)  was   hampered  by   diverse  factors,   including   the
institutional  weakness  of the  Government,  insufficient  coordination  of
resources and economic stagnation.

8.   The country  enjoys a level  of political freedom  greater than at  any
moment  in its  history  and significant  advances  have been  made  in  the
institutionalization of its democracy.  Although  progress in this area  was
tested by months of dispute between  the legislative and executive  branches
of government over reforms to the  1987 Constitution, the agreement  reached
on  15 June 1995  and the  promulgation of the constitutional  reform by the
President of the  Republic on 4  July, represent important  advances in  the
consolidation of  democratic procedures, clearing the  way for the  November
1996  elections.    The transformation  of the  Sandinista  Army into  a new
National  Army, subordinate to  civil government,  was underlined  by the 21
February 1995  transfer of command from  General Humberto  Ortega to General
Joaquin  Cuadra.  Organizations  of civil  society in  economic, trade union
and other social groups abound.   At the local level,  under a Ministry  for
Social  Action  (MAS)/United Nations  Development Programme  (UNDP) project,
municipal  development  committees  have  been  established  in  120 of  the
country's  143   municipalities.    However,   the  full  reintegration   of
demobilized combatants and  increased confidence in democratic  institutions
remain  outstanding goals  of significance for the  stability of Nicaragua's
democracy.

9.  The complex  issue of property has discouraged the investment needed for
economic development, compromised the rule of  law and jeopardized the  flow
of  external assistance.  Progress made towards the  resolution of the issue
is  therefore   to  be   welcomed.     The  Government   has  reviewed   the
expropriations and  confiscations carried  out by its  predecessors, with  a
view to the  possibility of restitution  or compensation.   To  this end  in
January 1995 the Department of  Property was established in  the Ministry of
Finance.   Difficulties in bringing  the administrative procedures  involved
to a rapid conclusion are compounded by the  fact that the current structure
of  the  judiciary  is  such  that  it  lacks  resources to  deal  with  the
anticipated volume  of cases  (around 6,000).   A Conference on  Property in
Nicaragua,  held on 4 and 5 July 1995 and  co-sponsored by the Carter Center
and  UNDP,  further  facilitated  progress  on  the  issue  as  it  produced
agreements  between  the broad  range  of  participants  on:   security  for
occupants of small rural and urban  properties; speedy and fair compensation
for victims  of confiscation, including revaluation  of bonds;  and the need
for  occupants  of  large  urban  properties   to  pay  to  receive  titles.
Subsequent to a proposal made  at the Conference, a joint committee bringing
together  members of  the Government,  the Legislative Assembly,  victims of
confiscation, beneficiaries,  bond holders and agricultural associations was
established in  order to  follow up on its  agreements.  UNDP serves  as the
secretariat of this committee.

10.   In the economic field,  macroeconomic stabilization  has been achieved
through control of the hyperinflation of the late  1980s and the elimination
of major economic distortions.  The framework for a market economy has  been
put  in place and signs of  recuperation are beginning  to emerge.  The year
1994 saw inflation of  12 per cent while  GDP, stagnant since 1990, recorded
a  3.2  per  cent  increase  to  reach  US$  1,844 million  (Central  Bank).
However, stabilization  remained dependent  on external  aid, which  reached
US$ 563 million in 1994 (Ministry  of External Cooperation), and underpinned
by Nicaragua's daunting  level of external debt.   At US$ 11,700 million  at
the end of 1994, the debt was more than six times  GDP and higher per capita
than anywhere else in  the world. Debt-servicing absorbed 60 per cent of all
exports of goods and services (Ministry  of External Cooperation).  Although
exports of goods are still below imports, they were up  by 28.8 per cent, to
US$ 344 million (Central  Bank), a rise  that was in part attributable  to a
hike in  the price of coffee,  but also to  growth in  the fishing industry,
meat production, free zone and  non-traditional agricultural products.   The
trade deficit  came down  nearly 5  per cent,  to US$  428 million  (Central
Bank).  It is to be  hoped that progress in the  property issue will lead to
an upturn in the otherwise stagnant investment climate.

11.   Support has come from the international community in the renegotiation
of Nicaragua's  external debt and in  the pledging  of continued assistance.
Paris Club creditors agreed in March 1995 to  a reduction of 67 per  cent in
Nicaragua's debts with member countries.  This amounts to a markdown of  US$
862.2 million,  out of a  total of US$  1,667 million  (Ministry of External
Cooperation).  Denmark, Spain,  Italy  and France  have  granted  additional
unilateral debt  reductions and Austria is  submitting a  similar measure to
its  legislature. Negotiations are  also under  way to  buy back Nicaragua's
US$ 1,700 million  commercial debt, for the  purchase of which  Germany, the
Netherlands,   Sweden,  Switzerland  and  financial  agencies  have  already
committed US$  120 million. Participants in  the Consultative Group  Meeting
for  Nicaragua, held  in  Paris  on 19  and  20 June  1995, confirmed  their
ongoing support of  Nicaragua's transition  process with commitments of  US$
560 million for 1995  and US$ 1.5 million  for 1995-1997, intended  to offer
relief of Nicaragua's balance-of-payments gap over the next three years.

12.     As   political  and   macroeconomic  problems   are  overcome,   the
deteriorating  social  situation  is  becoming  the  main  obstacle  to  the
Nicaraguan  transition. Growth in last  year's GDP was  not reflected in per
capita income due to  an annual increase in population  of 3.7 per cent, the
highest in America.   Since 1990 per capita income  has declined by  some 10
per cent.  An estimated 20.2 per cent of the economically active  population
are unemployed  in  1995, with  underemployment  running  at 33.7  per  cent

(Central  Bank).    Poverty  is  widespread,  with  55.7  per  cent  of  the
population classified as being in a  situation of poverty, and  22.6 percent
in extreme poverty (MAS,  1993).  The vast  majority of those  classified as
poor and extremely poor live in rural areas.

13.  For the moment, however, the main  threat to democratic governance lies
not in political conflict,  but in the difficulty  of the conditions of life
and the subsequent  loss of faith in democracy  and its institutions.   That
the social situation has not seriously  endangered the democratic process is
due, in part, to the strong tradition of organization and social  discipline
of the  Nicaraguan people, reinforced by  the fact that the Nicaraguan poor,
especially small and mid-scale agricultural producers  (who sow 75 per  cent
of the  country's cultivated  area), possess  a large  volume of  productive
resources.    Social  difficulties,  however,  are  manifested  in  begging,
prostitution, the  break-up of  families and the  rise of  common crime,  in
some instances  perpetrated  by small  and  irregularly  armed bands.    The
improvement  of  social conditions,  particularly  in  rural  areas,  remote
regions of  the Atlantic  Coast and  among former  combatants and  displaced
persons,  is  therefore  an  urgent requirement  for  the  establishment  of
lasting conditions  of public security.  Seizures of drugs  and incidence of
arms  trafficking  are  increasing  notwithstanding  the  scanty   resources
available to the armed forces.

14.   While  the Nicaraguan  transition has  progressed, serious  challenges
remain  to  be  tackled.    Among  them  are  the  recovery  of  output  and
improvement  of the  living conditions  of the  population as  a whole;  the
finding  of definitive solutions to the property issue and the problem posed
by  the enormous  external debt;  the conduct  of a clean  electoral process
culminating in broad  participation in the elections for President, Assembly
and local government in 1996; and the  management of factors contributing to
the destabilization  of Nicaragua,  the region  and the  continent, such  as
uncontrolled migration and trafficking in drugs, weapons and people.

15.   Most  Nicaraguans  continue  to support  reconciliation  and  national
understanding.   A 1994 survey on  governance, conducted  under the auspices
of UNDP  in 1994,  revealed that  93.7 per  cent consider  a broad  national
agreement indispensable, and 73.3 per cent  consider it feasible.   However,
as  shown in  this and  other  surveys,  confidence in  democratic political
institutions such as  State branches and political parties has not yet taken
root,  due to a large extent to  the lack of a democratic  tradition and the
stagnation  of  living  standards since  the  beginning  of  the  democratic
transition.  A positive scenario for  rapprochement between the people,  its
Government  and the political  parties would  be the  definition, with broad
civil participation, of a national development  strategy for the medium  and
long  term, to  which  the  main political  forces and  the  Government were
committed.   In this  context, the  Support Group states in  its 1994 report
that:  "There is unanimity on  the need for a broad agreement on the kind of
country to  be attained, the  kind of development  to be  encouraged and the
basic rules of the game that should prevail.  All sectors consider that  the
definition of  a new  national development  strategy is  both necessary  and
timely."


      II.  ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM IN NICARAGUA
           PURSUANT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 49/16

16.  The following describes the activities of  the United Nations system in
Nicaragua during 1994-1995.


A.  United Nations Development Programme

17.   Activities  to  support reconciliation,  pacification  and  democratic
governance include the following:

  (a)  Secretariat of  the Support Group for  Nicaragua.  The  Support Group

for  Nicaragua,  the establishment  of which  the General  Assembly welcomed
with  interest  in  resolution  48/161,  paragraph  17,  and  expressed  its
approval in resolution  49/137, paragraph 20,  was set  up in  May 1994  and
consists  of  representatives  of the  Governments  of  Canada,  Mexico, the
Netherlands,  Spain and Sweden.   UNDP serves as  a technical secretariat to
this informal group, whose objectives are  to follow closely the  Nicaraguan
transition to  peace, democracy  and  development, and  to support  internal
consensus-building in the country.   In the second half of 1994 the  Support
Group  formulated an  agenda in  support of  Nicaragua's transition  process
that  included:   the  improvement of  the investment  climate, particularly
through the  resolution  of the  property  question;  the formulation  of  a
concerted  medium-  and   long-term  national   development  strategy;   the
resolution of the problem  of external debt.   In addition, during the early
months of  1995, and  at the  request of  the State  authorities, the  Group
facilitated initial negotiations on the constitutional dispute;

  (b)  Resolution  of the property question.   In October 1994 UNDP,  guided
by  the  Support  Group,  began  a  project  to  expedite the  procedures  -
administrative, judicial  and those  requiring arbitration  - necessary  for
the resolution of the property question.  The project was  funded at US$ 3.7
million by UNDP and  the Governments of Sweden, the Netherlands and  Canada.
As a follow-up to  the Conference on Property organized by the Carter Center
and UNDP on 4 and 5  July 1995, UNDP has undertaken to act as secretariat of
the Joint Committee on Property;

   (c)   UNDP  projects  in the  former  conflict zones,  designed  with  an
integrated and  participatory approach  to demobilization and  resettlement.
Among these are:

  (i)The  Development   Programme  for  Displaced   Persons,  Refugees   and
Returnees in  Central America (PRODERE), implemented  by UNDP  in the former
conflict  zone with funding  from the  Government of  Italy, which completed
operations in  June  1995.   The sustainability  of the  programme has  been
assured through  its transfer  to local  development agencies.   The  second
half of 1995 will see the initiation of the Programme for Human  Development
at  the   Local  Level,  which  seeks   to  establish  State/civil   society
participatory organizations for local development throughout the country;

    (ii)The  National Reconciliation and  Rehabilitation Programme (PRRN) of
the  Ministry  for  Social  Action  which  supplies   productive  inputs  to
demobilized combatants  from both sides who  received land  from the current
Government;

   (iii)The project on support for the  pacification process which  attempts
to  complete the reintegration  of former  combatants from  both sides, with
the Ministry of the Interior ensuring  the viability of the commitments made
to  demobilized  combatants  and  the Ministry  for  Social  Action pursuing
activities to promote reintegration into productive society;

  (d)  Projects  designed to facilitate the organization and  transformation
of  the  Government.   These  include:    Management Development  Programme;
support  for   the  Nicaraguan   Public  Administration   Institute  (INAP);
development and installation of a national  public investment system and  of
a  foreign trade  plan  in the  Ministry  of the  Economy  and  Development;
installation  of an  information system for decision-making  (SIENIC) in the
Office of the Minister  of the Presidency; building of national capacity for
the management of  external cooperation  (NATCAP) and  restructuring of  the
Ministry  of   External  Cooperation;   support  for   the  formulation   of
agricultural  policies  and  programmes  and  agricultural  statistics (food
security) in the Ministry of Agriculture;  strengthening of the Ministry  of
Finance and  automation of the  customs office; institutional  strengthening
of the Ministry of Social Action.

18.   Activities to  support the rule  of law  and State  reform include the
following:

  (a)   Strengthening of  the judiciary.   This project, which  is to create
local courts  in all municipalities throughout  the country  and improve the
technical capabilities  and living conditions  of judges,  is being executed
by the Supreme Court of Justice with funding from Sweden/UNDP;

  (b)    Incorporation of  human  rights  within  military  training.   This
project, which was proposed  by the Nicaraguan  Army and is financed by  the
Government of Sweden, provides preparatory assistance for the  establishment
of a model  for the education  of military  personnel in  the observance  of
human rights;

   (c)   Strengthening of  local government.   UNDP activities  in this area
include a project for the improvement  of municipal services, funded  by the
European Union;  the creation of a  unified municipal  land register system;
pilot projects  for municipal  disaster prevention  and management  systems;
and a pilot local development project being run in six towns;

  (d)  National population and housing  census, including an agriculture and
livestock module.   The census  was conducted  in April and May  1995 by the
National  Institute  for  Statistics  and  Censuses  (INEC)  with  technical
support from  UNDP/United Nations Population Fund  (UNFPA) and  a grant from
the Inter-American Development Bank.  Besides  being designed to update  the
existing 1963 data (all information gathered  from the country's most recent
census in 1971 was destroyed in the 1972  earthquake; attempts to prepare  a
census since  1980 were  suspended due  to conflict),  the census  had as  a
subsidiary objective  the  institutional strengthening  of  the  INEC.   The
preliminary  results will be available in October 1995 and the final results
will be ready in early 1996.

19.  Activities to support education and culture include:

  (a)   The curriculum  reform of  primary, secondary  and higher education,
being  developed in  coordination with  the  Ministry  of Education  and the
Council of Universities;

  (b)   Support for  the Nicaraguan Women's  Institute and  non-governmental
organizations in the formulation of the  Nicaraguan submission to the Fourth
World Conference on Women;

  (c)   Support for the  Nicaraguan Institute of  Culture in the formulation
of  a national cultural  plan, with  the participation  of several municipal
cultural  centres, and  for the  rehabilitation  of  the National  Palace of
Culture financed with equivalent funds from the Government of Japan.

20.  Activities to support economic reactivation include:

  (a)  The rural financial services programme.   Restricted access to credit
for the  small- and medium-scale farmers  cultivating three  quarters of the
land  in Nicaragua is  a serious impediment to  economic reactivation in the
countryside.  UNDP  has worked since 1993 to overcome this situation through
the design of and financial  management training and provision of seed money
for a  network of  local rural  financing organizations.   As a  result, the
programme of rural financial services for  small- and medium-scale  farmers,
which comes under the Office of the Ministry  of the Presidency, will  begin
functioning during the second half of 1995;

  (b)  Attenuation  of the impact  of structural  adjustment on farmers  and
manufacturers.  Since 1991  UNDP has given assistance,  with US$ 32  million
provided by  the Government of Japan,  for the import  of raw materials  and
inputs for  production, including  for enterprises  recently privatized  for
the  workers. The sales,  paid for  in national currency and  on soft terms,
generate funds  which are being  used in  cooperation projects, such  as the
national cultural plan and the rehabilitation of the Palace of Culture.

 21.   Activities  to  support community  participation and  improvement  of
living conditions include:

  (a)    Support  for  the  formulation  of  social  policies  and community
development (reactivacion solidaria) in the Ministry of Social Action;

  (b)  Support for  the formulation of  a national housing programme in  the
Nicaraguan Housing Bank;

  (c)   Support  for the  project formulation  unit of  the Emergency Social
Investment Fund (FISE);

  (d)  A  project with the Ministry of  Social Action and Civil Defence,  to
establish  and  put  into  operation  a  national  disaster  prevention  and
mitigation  system.   It  will  include civil  society and  provide  for the
establishment  of the necessary  legal basis  and the drafting of  a bill on
the subject.

22.    Activities  to  support  sustainable  development  and  environmental
conservation include:

  (a)    Formulation of  a  national  development  strategy.   Following  an
initiative  of the  Support  Group, during  1994 support  was  given  to the
formulation of  a national strategy  for sustainable  development using UNDP
funds.  Agricultural associations  have  been included  and  are  discussing
their proposals with the Government;

  (b)   The sustainable  development network  continues to share information
and  promote discussion of  environmental issues  at the  national, regional
and global level.


      B.  Specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations
          system:  contributions in different fields

23.     The  paragraphs   that  follow   provide  a   brief  description  of
contributions by United Nations  specialized agencies and  bodies other than
UNDP.


1.  United Nations Children's Fund

24.   Within the context of  the National  Reconciliation and Rehabilitation
Programme,  the programme of  integrated basic  services carried  out in the
former  conflict areas  seeks  to improve  living  conditions,  particularly
those of women and children, by:   strengthening community health  networks,
developing  participation  at the  local  level  and  sensitizing  municipal
officials to  gender and  empowerment issues;  providing technical  training
for  primary  health  workers  and  health  education  for  adults/heads  of
household; providing for vaccination, supplies, construction of small  rural
aqueducts,  latrines  and  wells;  the  creation  of  preschool  centres and
development of infant feeding  programmes; and the  promotion of  children's
rights.

 25.   The  programme  for  children in  especially difficult  circumstances
(Ministry of  Education), which  was originally  geared to  minors who  were
victims  of the  war, is  now  directed at  the population  as  a  whole and
involves dissemination of  information on children's rights, eradication  of
violence   against  women   and  the   strengthening  of   legislation   and
institutions dealing with children, women and the family.

26.   The water and  sanitation programme, which  was completed in  December
1994, resulted  in the building  of nearly 700  water supply  works and more
than  8,000 latrines, and  the introduction  of new well-digging technology.
Coordination  between  institutions  and  agencies  was  increased  and  the
methodology used in rural water and sanitation projects was standardized.


2.  United Nations Capital Development Fund

27.   The bridge over the  River Jicaro was  inaugurated on 14 October 1994,
opening up production possibilities within a  rich agricultural region in  a
former zone of conflict.   Execution of this  project has been  entrusted to
local communities and authorities.

28.   The project for  the rehabilitation and  extension of  the aqueduct at
Quilali,  a town  in the same  region which  was a  base for  the Nicaraguan
Resistance, has been approved and will start in October 1995.

29.   Also in  the north  is the project  for the construction  of the mini-
hydroelectric power  station at Wiwili, which will provide energy to a group
of  towns  and  will  be  operated  jointly  by the  local  authorities  and
inhabitants.


3.  World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization

30.   Activities  to strengthen  and  decentralize  the Ministry  of  Health
include:  the review  and reformulation  of policies, strategies,  plans and
programmes;  increased social  participation at  the central  level  (health
council)  and decentralization  and  increased participation  at  the  local
level (integrated local health-care  systems - SILAIS);  the development  of
human resources;  new information  flow technologies;  the strengthening  of
technology and  human resources in  hospital maintenance and basic services;
the  strengthening  of  environmental  management  capacity  in  respect  of
health, conservation  and control of  water resources, occupational  aspects
and exposure to pesticides.

31.   Specific  areas of  assistance  include:   the  prevention, diagnosis,
treatment,  and management  of  AIDS;  the  treatment of  acute  respiratory
infections  in   minors;  maternity  care,   including  training  of   birth
attendants,  support for  technical  health units  and  increased  community
participation; the  preparation and dissemination  of information on  women,
health   and   development;   immunizations;  rational   use   of  essential
medication; the establishment  of a model  mother and  child care unit;  the
prevention  of acute  diarrhoeal diseases  and cholera;  the improvement  of
perinatal  care;  rehabilitation of  the disabled;  and  malaria and  dengue
control programmes.

  4.  United Nations Population Fund

32.  Within the areas of reproductive health and  family planning activities
include:   the training,  monitoring and  supervision of auxiliary personnel
and the  preparation of  family planning  materials  for dissemination;  the
training of  medical students in family  planning, sex  education and social
demography;  reproductive health  education  for adolescents  and  care  for
rural adolescents; and community participation.

33.   The area of population policies and education includes the formulation
of a national population policy; a  population and housing census  (together
with UNDP);  education in  population matters  at the  formal (teacher)  and
non-formal  (household head) level;  the creation  of the information system
on  population  affected   by  the  war   in  Nicaragua   (Organization  for
International Migration).


5.  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

34.   FAO  is running  a programme  on the  conservation and  management  of
natural   resources    concentrating   on   reforestation   with   community
participation in mountainous areas.

35.    Other  activities  include  the  provision  of:    assistance  to the
Government  in food security  planning; training and technical assistance to
women  farmers and  to small-scale  farmers in  the use  of fertilizers  and
other inputs; and  management training  to small-scale  producers and  those

operating private irrigation systems.


6.  World Food Programme

36.    Food supplements  are  provided  to  preschool  children in  day-care
centres and  to schoolchildren by  means of  a "nutritious biscuit".   Food-
for-work  programmes  have   been  introduced  in   agricultural  activities
involving the adoption of appropriate technology (see IFAD).

37.  A programme for dairy  development encourages small-scale dairy farmers
to expand by providing  them with credit, using funds derived from donations
of dairy products.


7.  International Atomic Energy Agency

38.  The IAEA has collaborated with the  Ministry of Health in the  field of
medicine  to  provide  in  vitro  and  in  vivo  diagnosis  and,  in nuclear
medicine, by  repairing equipment,  installing services, training  personnel
and providing cobalt for the treatment of gynaecological problems.


 8.  International Fund for Agricultural Development

39.   The comprehensive  agricultural development  project  for the  poorest
farmers  in  the  dry  region of  the  north  covers  training,  credit  and
sustainable  agriculture/soil  conservation.   The  World  Food  Programme's
contribution is to provide food in  exchange for participation in productive
activities or training. A similar programme  will begin in the  agricultural
area of the south towards the end of 1995.


9.  United Nations International Drug Control Programme

40.   UNIDCP  is supporting  the formulation  of  a  national plan  for drug
prevention and control in Nicaragua.


          10.  United Nations Educational, Scientific
               and Cultural Organization

41.    UNESCO is  supporting  the  Ministry of  Education  in  adapting  the
educational curriculum to the needs of  the development process and training
executive, teaching and technical personnel.


11.  International Labour Organization

42.  In addition  to its training of labour  leaders, ILO, together with the
Nicaraguan  Institute  for  Training  and  Technology,  supports   practical
training directed  specifically at  the handicapped,  women and  small-scale
manufacturers and craftsmen.


12.  United Nations Industrial Development Organization

43.   UNIDO supports  the establishment  and operation  of micro  and small-
scale  industries  using the  system  of  flexible  specialization.   It  is
currently  providing  preparatory  assistance  for  the  formulation  of  an
integrated technical assistance programme which will encourage the  transfer
of technology towards priority areas in the private sector.


13.  United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

44.  UNHCR documents  refugees who settled in Nicaragua and the repatriation
of others to their countries of origin.